We need your help to reunite Windrush victim Glenford Knight with his son Olusegun. The Home Office have refused to help him pay their extortionate application fee so that Olusegun can join Glenford in the UK – we need £2523 to reunite this father and son. 

Glenford Knight came to the UK from Jamaica at the age of 9. He grew up in Brent, worked for London Transport, and then trained in Computer Studies, after which he launched his own successful business. His whole life was here.

In 1996, Glenford travelled to Jamaica for what was supposed to be a 3 week holiday, but found himself trapped in Jamaica when he was prevented from returning to the UK, even though his passport had a ‘No Time Limit’ stamp. Suddenly, he was homeless, jobless, and separated from his family. After experiencing destitution and a severe deterioration in his mental health, he managed to start to rebuild his life in Jamaica and had two children, Gemma and Olusegun. Gemma is now 22 and Olusegun is 16.

In November 2018, Glenford was contacted by the Windrush Task Force, having been identified as a victim of the Windrush Scandal. He was initially told that his children, who were 20 and 15 at the time, would be able to return to the UK with him. However, after further communication with the Home Office, he was told that this would not be possible. He made the heart-wrenching decision to travel to the UK and make arrangements for his teenage son Olusegun to come and join him once he had arrived.

Glenford arrived in the UK in May 2019, and instructed solicitors to apply for entry clearance for Olusegun to come to the UK. But there was no way that he could afford the extortionate Home Office application fee of £1523, or the cost of Olusegun’s flight to the UK from Jamaica (around £1000). Glenford is unable to work due to a diagnosis of severe PTSD, brought on by the harrowing experience of being caught up in the Windrush Scandal and his separation from his son. He receives Universal Credit, and the vast majority of his monthly payment goes towards his housing and utilities bills, leaving him with just £50 a month to live off. He depends on food banks to feed himself.

Glenford has submitted a claim to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, but it is well documented that the Home Office is taking months or even years to settle claims: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/windrush-compensation-payout-delay-home-office-a9692251.html. Waiting for his claim to be settled before bringing Olusegun home would mean waiting indefinitely.

His solicitors made an application for an exceptional emergency payment under the Windrush Scheme to cover the cost of the application fee and flights. But this was refused by the Home Office on the basis that the request was ‘neither sufficiently urgent nor exceptional’ to warrant a grant. In the words of Glenford, ‘if my situation isn’t exceptional, I don’t know what is’.

His solicitors have lodged an application for Judicial Review of the refusal to grant an emergency payment. But he is still waiting for the High Court to grant permission for the case to go to a full hearing. Even if permission is granted, it could be over a year before the case is heard, and the outcome is uncertain.

The effect of this prolonged separation is having a devastating effect on both father and son. Glenford calls Olusegun every day; they are desperate to be reunited.

We need your donations to bring Olusegun to the UK so that he can be with his father, where he belongs.